Published 5:04 am, Thursday, August 9, 2012

Two Harris County women were booked into the Montgomery County Jail Friday for allegedly stealing more than $400,000 from a South Montgomery County business.

Amber Nicole Doughty, 29, and her mother, Shannon Dennis Doughty, 53, face felony theft charges after Amber Doughty allegedly illegally diverted thousands of dollars from Dunn Valve Testers, located off of Riley Fuzzel Road, where she worked as the business manager.

As of Monday, Amber Doughty was still in jail on a $200,000 bond and Shannon Doughty on a $1,500 bond.

According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the owner of the business suspected Amber Doughty was taking money from the company along with discovering she had listed her mother as an employee for the company without his consent.

Emmett Dunn, owner of the business, said the theft happened over a three-year period.

During that time, the company was experiencing strong growth and he was focused on hiring more staff and making sure jobs were being completed for customers. He trusted the books for the company were being handled correctly.

“She had time to steal all she wanted to,” he said. “That is basically how it happened.”

Dunn, who has been in business more than 30 years, said he started to suspect money was missing and he installed cameras. He said Amber Doughty was upset about the camera installation and did not get along with several other employees, so she quit Feb. 15.

Detective Ron Pickering started investigating the theft of money in February and learned Amber Doughty allegedly used the company’s business accounts to pay for several personal expenses.

Despite the theft, Dunn said he is ready to move past it and continue to grow his business.

The company, which employs about 13 people, manufactures valve testing machines for different industries, including the government and the oil and gas industry.

“You learn in business you have to move forward,” he said. “My business is better now than it was last year.”

He has hired a former employee to handle his books and is confident he won’t have a theft like this again.